The robbery happened at the same time that Israel Diamond Week took place on the trading hall of the nearby Diamond Dealers Club.
Two armed men attacked a jewelry merchant and grabbed jewelry and watches with an estimated value of $2 million from a safe in a West 47th Street building in New York.
“It was $2 million in jewelry, mostly watches,” said store owner Danny Mikhaylov. “They came in and said, ‘Give me all your stuff!’ ,” the New York Post reported.
One of the men posed as a delivery person and entered Watch Standard at 23 W. 47th St. about 2:30 pm, police said. He took out a black handgun and demanded the four workers empty out the safe while the other robber served as a lookout in the hallway.
The armed robber hit the owner in the head with his pistol when entered the store, according to William Aubrey, Manhattan Chief of Detectives. The store owner was not seriously injured.
Police immediately locked down the building and barricaded off the block in a bid to trap the gunmen, but they escaped. Police blocked off 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues and surrounding the building where the store is located.
